Saudi investment ministry inks deal with Sana to boost entrepreneurial ecosystem in Al-Ahsa

RIYADH: The net profits of public joint companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange surged 52.6 percent year on year to reach 1.339 billion Omani rials ($3.48 billion) in 2024.

This increase coincided with the listing of OQ Exploration and Production and OQ Base Industries in 2024, while energy companies recorded improved performance, with some moving from losses to profits, the Oman News Agency reported.

This falls in line with strong growth in Arab stock exchanges in 2024, where trading values surged 58.1 percent to surpass $1.03 trillion.

It also aligns with a 21.3 percent increase in regional trading volumes and a 35.9 percent rise in the number of trades during the year, reflecting a dynamic financial landscape with varied market performances.

Statistics from the Oman News Agency, based on preliminary financial results for around 90 public joint-stock firms with fiscal years ending in December, revealed improved performance across most companies in the banking, industrial, investment, service, and telecommunications sectors.

The data further showed that the total number of companies that reported profits last year was 69, compared to 68 entities that reported profits in 2023, excluding the financial results of funds and firms that were not listed on the stock exchange during 2023.

The figures also indicated that OQ Exploration and Production topped the list of companies with the highest net profits, totaling 326.5 million rials.

Bank Muscat came in second with 225.5 million rials, followed by Sohar International Bank, which came in third with 100.2 million rials.

Omantel ranked fourth after recording net profits at the local level of 69.4 million rials. The National Bank of Oman placed fifth with net profits of approximately 63.1 million rials, followed by OQ Gas Networks, which came in sixth with 47.8 million rials.

The data further showed that Bank Dhofar placed seventh with 43.6 million rials, while Ahli Bank ranked eighth with 41.6 million rials.

Ominvest placed ninth with net profits of an estimated 35.9 million rials, while Oman Arab Bank ranked tenth with net profits of 30.4 million rials.

Preliminary data showed that the losses recorded by public joint-stock companies decreased last year to around 38.1 million rials, compared to losses of 50.6 million rials in 2023. However, the number of firms recording losses last year jumped to 21, compared to 20 companies that recorded setbacks in 2023.

Last year, five companies flipped from losses to profits, including SMN Power Holding, which reported group net profits of 4.5 million rials in 2024, up from 6.4 million rials in 2023. Sohar Power Co. also posted net profits of about 22 million rials, compared to 5.1 million rials the previous year.

Conversely, six companies turned from profits to losses, most notably Leva Group, which recorded losses of 5 million rials in 2024, compared to net profits of 6.3 million rials in 2023, and Oman Refreshments, which recorded group losses of 2.7 million rials last year, compared to a net profit of 6.3 million rials in 2023.

Galfar Engineering and Contracting also recorded a group loss of 3.9 million rials in 2024, compared to a profit of 574,000 rials in 2023.

RIYADH: Global economic growth is expected to average around 3.1 percent in the next five years, below the pre-pandemic level of 3.7 percent, according to an International Monetary Fund official.

Speaking at the China Development Forum in Beijing on March 23, Nigel Clarke, deputy managing director of the IMF, said that total factor productivity internationally, which measures the ability to create more outputs with the same inputs, has been growing at a slower pace since the 2008-09 global financial crisis.

The worldwide growth projections of the IMF indicate that countries in the Middle East are expected to show future financial resilience. 

In January, the UN financial agency said Saudi Arabia’s economy is projected to grow by 3.3 percent in 2025 and 4.1 percent in 2026. 

“Global growth is steady but underwhelming. Our five-year ahead growth forecast remains at 3.1 percent— well below the pre-pandemic average of 3.7 percent,” said Clarke. 

He added: “Patterns of trade and capital flows are shifting. AI (artificial intelligence) is rapidly advancing. Trade is no longer the engine of global growth it used to be. Divergences across countries are widening. And governments worldwide are shifting their policy priorities.” 

Clarke argues that countries should pursue structural reforms to boost productivity and ensure medium-term growth.

He further said that in aging societies— where the share of the working-age population is shrinking— productivity growth plays a vital role in maintaining living standards. 

“It also applies to emerging markets and developing economies trying to close the gap with richer countries. To provide better jobs and a higher standard of living, they too need to ignite productivity growth,” added the deputy managing director.

He added that this productivity growth could be achieved only by innovation, technological advancements, and ample investments in research and development. 

Citing IMF research, Clarke highlighted that productivity growth in advanced economies could increase by 0.2 percentage points a year with a hybrid policy that boosts public research expenditure by a third and doubles subsidies to private research. 

He noted that AI could boost global gross domestic product growth between 0.1 and 0.8 percentage points per year in the medium term, depending on how it is adopted.

Clarke also underscored the necessity of better resource allocation in the future to maintain a healthy global productivity level. 

“The movement of labor and capital toward more productive firms and industries has long been an important source of overall productivity growth. As workers move from farms to factories, for example, their productivity increases dramatically. So too do their income and living standards, with spillovers to the whole economy,” he said. 

According to Clarke, effective measures should be taken to strengthen the private sector, as well as create an environment that could help them thrive. 

“Through our policy advice, lending and capacity development, the IMF has consistently supported countries in establishing macroeconomic and financial stability as a foundation for growth,” said Clarke. 

He added that a new IMF Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth has been created to help countries develop ideas on easing regulatory barriers, adapting tax systems, and incentivizing long-term savings to boost innovation.